Nobody ever said, “Man, I wish we hadn’t taken that time off work and went on vacation.”
Never.
But how many times have you heard (or said), “Man, I wish we had a vacation planned right about now.”
Many.
Moral of the story?
Plan a vacation today.
Category Archives: Wellness
Better than Longevity
Longevity is not a great incentive for most.
It’s abstract. It’s far away. And most demotivating of all, it still implies absolute and certain death.
But what if there was a cut-off date? A date where all of those still alive got to live forever?
Now that’s an incentive to stay healthy and well!
And while it’s incomprehensible, so was the internet in 1975.
And we’re moving faster and faster.
Moral of the story?
Eat plants and move your body for a chance to live forever.
[HT: For the most mind-blowing article you will read all year, cozy up for an hour with this two-part masterpiece on artificial intelligence from Wait But Why (aka my new favorite blog (yes, trumping my blogs))]
Own it or Quit
Do what you do.
But what if you feel the need to hide it from your immediate family?
Cigarette smoking, cheating, seatbelt not-wearing, etc.
Hey, if your family is okay with that stuff, go right ahead.
But, c’mon.
If they’re not, don’t hide it.
[HT to Sister Lan]
Fire Sale
Feeling lethargic before, during and after work?
Fire things.
- Fire your chair. What do you really need it for? Get an exercise ball or a standing desk.
- Fire your candy bowl. Apples or almonds and raisins instead.
- Fire your lunch break. Go on a walk instead. Then, eat at your desk.
Yes, firing things is difficult.
But it’s definitely than firing people. Before, during and after-the-fact.
Right?
You’re fired.
Mr. PTO
When your “out-of-office” is on, you have two choices.
- Read the emails and selectively send brief replies.
- Respect yourself.
Your call, Mr. PTO.
The Second Best Cure-All
If your back hurts, try sitting up straight.
Same recommendation if you’re:
- Not getting the attention you think you deserve.
- Not performing the way you think you should.
- Not digesting the way you want to.
- Not…everything.
It’s about the best cure-all, second to “drink more water.”
Sit up straight.
Posture, baby.
Two Questions For You
Question 1:
Per day, how much time do you need on your phone to check social media?
That’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.
10 minutes?
Not nearly enough.
30 minutes?
Well, that’s only ten minutes on each of my top three.
An hour?
Yeah, an hour should be enough.
Cool.
Question 2:
Per day, how much time do you need for exercise?
Think about your immediate reaction.
And realize…
Something is really fucked up about that.
Crappy desk chairs
The most comfortable office chairs cost several hundreds of dollars.
They have mesh seats. Adjustable arm rests. Hundreds of configurations.
They’re so good, you never need to get up.
But, I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.
If my desk chair were THAT good, I’d probably never get up.
So, cheers to mediocre desk chairs.
Thanks to you, I stand up for phone calls. I refill my water bottle. And I move my body when it would otherwise be tempting to not.
Traumatic events
I know it isn’t making me any money.
In fact, it costs me.
It certainly doesn’t save me any time.
In fact, it requires lots.
So why do I do this blog thing? I write and publish every day about objective advice I’m giving to myself and others.
Well, according to a 2005 study, this blog is quite therapeutic. The study said that one can use expressive writing as a therapeutic tool after surviving trauma.
No, I don’t write about traumatic events, per se. It’s mostly just me coming to grips with stuff that drives me nuts.
But, if you’ve recently experienced a traumatic event, consider writing a bit. It helps.
Assuming I’ll continue to be traumatized by incompetence, ignorance, and hypocrisy, you can expect me to keep doing the same.
Present vs present
There are two ways to look at sleep.
- Opportunity cost. When you’re sleeping, you’re missing out on opportunities to live.
- Opportunity. Being well-rested affords you opportunities that your less alert, energized, and happy self would have missed.
Because of the former, I used to be very afraid of sleep. 4-5 hours was all I used to allow myself.
Now, I subscribe to the latter.
And while I still carry a you-sleep-when-you-die attitude, I think there’s more opportunity cost that comes from NOT being well rested.
Sure, 7 hours of solid sleep can be tough to come by sometimes.
But, being present at half speed isn’t really being present, ya know?